Thursday, December 2, 2010

Aligning with Global Rice Science Partnership

AfricaRice is an important partner in the Global Rice Science Partnership
(GRiSP), which is a bold new rice research initiative that aims to lift 150
million people out of poverty by 2035 through partnership-based research and
more ecoefficient production systems that are more resilient to climate change.

GRiSP was launched as the first new Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program in November 2010 in Vietnam at
the International Rice Congress, which was attended by a delegation from
AfricaRice led by the Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Describing the potential impact of this global partnership for Africa, where
rice is the fastest growing food staple, Dr Seck said, “It will help reduce
Africa’s current reliance on rice imports by developing its huge potential to
grow more rice.”

The main architects of GRiSP are three CGIAR Centers (IRRI, AfricaRice and
CIAT), CIRAD, IRD, and JIRCAS which will play a strategic role in GRiSP, with
hundreds of other partners worldwide representing governments, the private
sector and civil society.

IRRI will lead this initiative and also oversee the activities in Asia;
AfricaRice will lead the work in Africa, and CIAT in the Latin America &
Caribbean region.

GRiSP will work with quantitative impact targets and develop 26 product lines
through six research for development themes:

“Our research structure broadly corresponds to these themes, so it is
relatively easy for us to align our research activities to the GRiSP mode,” commented
AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr Marco Wopereis at the AfricaRice Research
Days, held in December 2010, in Benin.

AfricaRice headquarters is based in Côte d’Ivoire. Staff are located in Côte d’Ivoire and also in AfricaRice Research Stations in Benin, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org

About CGIAR

CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. www.cgiar.org